Dr. Daniel Amen: Renowned psychiatrist and brain health expert who has scanned over 260,000 brains (including celebrities like Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus). Founder of Amen Clinics and the Change Your Brain Foundation, and bestselling author of brain-health books.
What this episode covers
Steven Bartlett interviews psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen about what 260,000 brain scans reveal about brain health. Amen argues that alcohol, marijuana, pornography, sugar and excess screen time physically damage the brain, while many psychiatrists 'fly blind' by prescribing drugs without ever imaging the organ they treat. He offers natural alternatives to antidepressants (saffron, omega-3s, exercise, managing negative thoughts), explains 'brain reserve' and childhood trauma's lasting impact, and lays out his approach to parenting, habits, grief and purpose. The conversation closes on caring for first responders and the brain-health habits couples should adopt before starting a family.
Recommended on this episode
Saffron
various (supplement)
“It helps mood. It helps sexual function. I'm like, mood, memory, and sex, I'm going to take it. ... yeah, I love saffron.”— Daniel Amen
The guest's own work
You Happier
Daniel Amen
“I wrote a book called you happier and I start with his idea that happiness is a moral obligation.”— Daniel Amen
Raising Mentally Strong Kids
Daniel Amen
“It's such a great line that in my book, Raising Mentally Strong Kids, we have lots of great lines for parents.”— Daniel Amen
Healing ADD
Daniel Amen
“I have a book called Healing ADD. And I write about my own personal experience being married to someone who has ADHD.”— Daniel Amen
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
Tiny Habits
BJ Fogg
“I worked with my friend BJ Fogg, who wrote a wonderful book called Tiny Habits. And he's the director of Stanford's Persuasive Technology Lab.”— Daniel Amen
Apple AirPods
Apple
“I just bought some new Apple AirPods, and when I connected them to my phone, it said, 'You want to do a hearing test?'”— Steven Bartlett
Big reveals from this episode
- Claims football and soccer are brain-damaging sports, but 80% of his NFL players improved on a rehabilitation program.
- Says marijuana is not innocuous; published a study on 1,000 users showing every brain area had lower activity.
- Reveals 85% of US psychiatric drugs are prescribed by non-psychiatric physicians in 7-minute visits, meeting good-medicine standards only 12% of the time.
- Argues antidepressants don't heal anything, they suppress symptoms and rewire your brain to need them.
- Tells the story of Elizabeth Smart, whose brain showed post-traumatic growth, not PTSD, after her kidnapping.
- Becomes emotional discussing grief over his dog and a loved one lost 20 years ago.
- Shares how a tiny dose of Ritalin 'normalized' his own daughter's brain and turned her grades from B's/C's to straight A's.
- Gets visibly emotional offering 100 free brain scans to LA firefighters, calling them heroes unlike NFL 'entertainers'.
Worth remembering
- A study found a simple-carbohydrate diet was linked to a 400% increased risk of Alzheimer's.
- Drinking any alcohol raises your risk of seven different cancers; the US Surgeon General wants cancer warning labels on it.
- The hippocampus makes about 700 new stem cells a day, and alcohol blocks them from taking root.
- An ACE score of 6 or more (childhood trauma) is linked to dying about 20 years earlier than average.
- Saffron has been shown head-to-head as effective as antidepressants, and unlike SSRIs it can enhance sexual function.
- A Stanford study begun in 1921 found 'don't worry, be happy' people died earliest; conscientious people lived longest.
- After two drinks REM sleep drops to about an hour; after six drinks it can fall to under two minutes.
- People who watch the news in the morning are 27% less happy in the afternoon.
- A 12-minute Kirtan Kriya meditation done daily for 8 weeks strengthened resting frontal-lobe function.
- Amen warns ChatGPT often makes mistakes when asked for medical advice.